Twelve coaches successfully completed the three-day Scotia Bank/Pepsi Schools Football Coaches course conducted by United States-based Instructor Stanley Harmon.
The Course was held at the Ministry of Education Sports Pavilion on Carifesta Avenue and attracted representing the following schools – Christ Church Secondary, Lodge Secondary, Queen’s College, East Ruimveldt Secondary, Tutorial High, St. Stanislaus College, North Georgetown Secondary, Tucville Secondary and New Silver City Secondary of Linden.
Course Coordinator Lawrence “Sparrow” Griffith said that the programme touched on key aspects of coaching which the coaches will impart to students who are preparing for the tournament phase of the academy.
Harmon conducted a similar programme last year and said he was pleased to be in Guyana to share knowledge with the local schools coaches.
Franklyn Wilson, President acting of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) who attended the Course Tuesday said the Academy has made a significant impact on young footballers.
He said that some of the female players from the programme were named in the Junior Lady Jaguars team in the Under-17 World Cup qualification competition last year.
He lauded the organizers for the initiative and called on the coaches to interact more to boost their communication skills.
Referees Instructor Colin Aaron and Ministry of Education officials Lindley Langhorne and Nicholas Fraser also visited the Course and interacted with the participants.
The Academy main sponsors are Scotia Bank and Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL) through its Pepsi brand and the US-based Guyana Sports Development Council.
Other key stakeholders include the ministries of Education and Sports, Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Guyana Teachers Union (GTU and the alumni associations of the participating schools.
The next phase of the Academy will be a Referees Course for students to be conducted by Griffith.
The tournament phase of the programme is expected to kick off during the first week in March.
The successful participants were: Timothy Whyte, Leon Bishop, Selwyn Browne, Andel Bethune, Dwalon Farrell, Celeste Mullin, Onika Kennedy, Uzzi Yisrael, John Barnwell, Randolph Critchlow, Jennifer Langevine and Kirk Moses.
